Menu

Services

Maybe you’re a museum or historical society professional who wants to enhance your collections with vivid personal accounts of those who lived the history your artifacts and documents reflect. Maybe you work for a company that has made important contributions to its field or is approaching a milestone anniversary. Perhaps you are part of an arts, social justice, human services, or educational organization that has changed lives and communities for the better. Or maybe you’re an educator looking for ways to make learning come alive for your students. Whatever your interest in oral history, we’re here to help.

Oral History Project Consultation

Are you interested in doing an oral history project but don’t know where to start? We can help you design, conduct, and manage an oral history project from beginning to end or at any stage along the way. Successful projects involve a series of coordinated steps, from the initial stages of planning through the end uses to which interview materials may be put. We can assist you with the following:

Transforming a compelling idea into a manageable project with defined scope and goals

Conducting thorough preparatory research in published and primary sources

Creating and maintaining good relationships with narrators throughout the life of the project

Oral History Interviews

Maybe you have already designed, or even begun, a project but need an experienced oral historian to conduct the actual interviews. We’re here for you. Get us up to speed on your project’s scope, goals, and progress, and we can take it from there. We can perform additional background research, if necessary, or use the information you have already compiled to prepare for and perform oral history interviews that will yield the information you seek.

Oral History Training Workshops

Are you an educator who wants to use oral history to enhance your students’ learning experiences? Do you work for an historical society or museum that wants to train staff to conduct oral history interviews? Would the members of your organization, history-related or not, benefit from the communication skills that oral historians cultivate and use in their work? We provide 2-hour, half-day, and full-day hands-on training workshops on the following topics, or on topics to suit your needs:

Oral History as Active Learning in the Classroom

Historical Research 101

Interview Tips, Tricks, and Techniques

What Do These Stories Tell Us? Analyzing Oral History Interviews

Deep Listening: Using the Skills of an Oral Historian to Develop Empathic Relationships